Non-stick or coated pans are not recommended for cooking sugar as the sugar can pull the coating off the pan. Candy Thermometer, Highly Recommended : If you are cooking sugar syrup for candies, a candy thermometer is extremely useful for accurate temperature. Various kinds of candies call for the syrup to be at different stages and the thermometer is setting you up for success. If you are simply making caramel sauce, you can get away without using a thermometer.
You can rely on your eyes and nose as well as approximate timing to get it right. However, certain caramel creations such as soft caramel candy as well as caramel to coat apples require more accuracy with the final temperature. Long Handled Spoon or Spatula, Highly Recommended: A spoon or spatula with a long handle is highly recommended, especially if you are going to be stirring liquid into your caramelized sugar to make caramel sauce. If you do not have a utensil with a long handle, consider wearing long sleeves and an oven mitt or gloves while working with the sugar to be extra safe.
I would argue that I have never once done this with any of the caramelization endeavors and have not had any problems. Instead, simply take care to keep the sugar in the bottom of the pan. If you are using the wet method of caramelizing your sugar than know that you CAN stir it before the sugar is dissolved. Do not be scared to do that. Many recipes harp that you can not ever stir it and this is simply not true. Make sure all of the crystals are off of the side of the pan and dissolving in the water.
This eliminates the need for the pastry brush. Now that you understand all the basics of caramelizing sugar, come back Thursday for my tutorial on making Caramel Sauce for dipping and coating apples!
Caramelizing sugar leads to really wonderful things! Use your caramelized sugar in your desired recipe. Pure caramelized sugar, like this, will harden very quickly so work quickly to use it in your recipe. Your eyes and your nose are your best tools for measuring when your caramelized sugar has reached its desired color. However, you can use a candy thermometer for more accuracy.
Advantages of The Wet Method: Easier to control the caramelization process, less chance of burning. Disadvantages of The Wet Method: Takes longer to caramelize, more risk of re-crystallization Advantages of The Dry Method: Very quick process, less risk of re-crystallization Disadvantages of The Dry Method: More difficult to control, more risk of burning.
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As always, the only time I care about science is your posts! Comparing the two methods, is the taste the same? Like if I did each one to a medium caramel, would they taste the same? Or does the dry caramelization taste better since it is only sugar and no water? Also with the dry method as each layer melts do you keep adding sugar until you get your desired amount? I needed 2 cups of caramel. Hi there!
Great question! The resulting caramel from the two methods is exactly the same as the water evaporates off of the wet method. The benefit of the wet method is that it is a slower process and therefore easier to control it not burning.
Some people do prefer to keep adding layer upon layer when doing the dry method, but I find that this is not necessary as long as you are paying close attention. It will all even out. Thank you so much. Caramel tends to lose its hardness when exposed to moisture like in the fridge. Donuts specifically are best when eaten fresh so I suggest only storing in an airtight container on the counter for a day. Why do you think that happened. Hi Puja, what were you trying to make with the caramelized sugar?
Once sugar is caramelized it will harden quickly when it cools. Were you wanting to make a caramel sauce? If so, you will need to add cream and butter. I eyeballed measurements for the sugar and water. I had it on medium-high heat. When I transferred it to my aluminum pan, it continued cooking, and ended up burning. Could it have been I had too much water or I had the stove too hot? What went wrong?
Hi Rose, You can caramelize sugar with any quantity of water or none at all. The sugar will not start caramelizing until all of the water is evaporated out.
Did you transfer it from one hot pan to another? Likely it burned because the pan was too hot. I also need to transfer to another pan. It is kind of tricky. When it is done, you cool it and turn over on a serving dish that is not completely flat. The flan will have a darker top the caramel mixed into the top layer , and will be surrounded by delicious liquid caramel sauce.
I think I got tempted and will make one tomorrow. I make it with eggs, sugar and almond milk to keep it lactose free. Thank you so much for your tips on how to make and handle the caramel. I have not ever found this quality of flan in any restaurant. Bettie, your instructions to making caramel are so wonderful.
I think with them anybody interested can easily make flan. You want a thin layer covering the whole inside of the pan. I always made it in a flute pan, more like a bundt Kugelhopf pan that was a basic tin pan.
The caramel sticks easily and it looks beautiful when you turn it out when cool. Seems like most cake pans today have some kind of nonstick surface. The caramel that sticks well to your pan will be the best nonstick surface for your magnificent flan. I would love your pictures and comments when you make it. Improve this question. Catzie Carpio. Catzie Carpio Catzie Carpio 1 1 gold badge 1 1 silver badge 6 6 bronze badges. You said it worked once and then started failing.
Do you know if anything was different? I don't know what I may have done differently. I followed the same procedures yet couldn't reproduce the same result, so now I just ask for techniques in melting butter and brown sugar together. If the sugar is becoming hard, it sounds like it may be cooking too much. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. I suspect one of three things happened: Different batches of butter may have different water contents. The brown sugar may have lost some of its moisture as it sat around in the pantry.
Some of the water may have evaporated off while melting the butter. Improve this answer. Didgeridrew Didgeridrew 6, 21 21 silver badges 36 36 bronze badges. I'm going to try this the next time I try to make the butterscotch bars. Community Bot 1. Cos Callis Cos Callis 18k 5 5 gold badges 58 58 silver badges 91 91 bronze badges. Thank you for this. I will refer to this chart when I get a candy thermometer. Sara Sara 21 1 1 bronze badge. Guada Guada 11 1 1 bronze badge. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google.
Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown. Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Version labels for answers. Caramelized sugar is used for dessert decorations and can also be used to give a candy coating to nuts. Watch out! Extreme heat forces sucrose to decompose and form a volatile chemical called hydroxymethylfurfural, which easily ignites and sets the rest of the sugar on fire.
Either way you still get the same scalding skin damage. How long does dry ice keep things cold compared to water ice? Steam causes more severe burns. So, when steam falls on skin and condenses to produce water it gives out
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